Journal of Computational Methods in Engineering

Journal of Computational Methods in Engineering

Numerical Modeling of Radiative Transfer in NETmix Photocatalytic Reactors Using Hamiltonian-Based Ray Tracing in COMSOL

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ahmad Hamzavi
Mohsen Emami
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran
10.47176/jcme.44.1.1051
Abstract
In this paper, a numerical study was carried out to optimize the light intensity distribution over the photocatalytic surface of a NETmix reactor by examining the influence of five key parameters: irradiation angle, light source power, arrangement type, number of sources, and the distance between the sources and the catalyst surface. The exact geometry of the reactor was modeled using the Ray Optics module in COMSOL Multiphysics, and the light intensity distribution was simulated for 25 different combinations of these parameters. Qualitative and quantitative results from radiation contours and average light intensity showed that a hexagonal arrangement provides the most uniform light distribution, while specific parameter values—including an angle of 100°, power of 10 W, square arrangement, 72 LEDs, and a distance of 10 mm—produced the highest average irradiance of 899.9 W/m². Analysis of the results indicated that selecting the optimal combination of optical parameters plays a decisive role in enhancing photocatalytic performance; optimizing only one variable without considering others will not yield satisfactory results. This study can serve as a foundation for effective optical design in purification, synthesis, and photochemical processes by providing a comprehensive numerical framework for analyzing light distribution in photocatalytic reactors.
Keywords
Photocatalytic Reactor
Radiative Transfer
Ray Tracing Method
Wavefront Propagation
Hamiltonian Optics
Subjects
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